530 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
April 20, 1889. 
proximity to our great city this is desirable, if not 
absolutely necessary, as there is a liability to rot in the 
incipient flower-buds when exposed to a damp stagnant 
atmosphere such as we invariably experience during our 
sunless winters. As the leaves die away on the advent 
of cold weather, this protection can be afforded by 
placing a piece of glass over the roots —tilted, of course, 
to admit air. 
One of my plants produced a fine head of bloom 
about Christmas, but owing to this damping-off process 
the flower soon deteriorated, and had to be removed to 
prevent the decay contaminating the other parts. This 
plant, however, perfected another bloom on March 24th, 
and now has developed five other compact heads of 
charming flowers. I have two fine robust specimens 
in 6-in. pots, the foliage in itself being remarkable, 
inasmuch as this is thickly coated with golden farina, 
which extends to the stems and the flowers. This 
farina is a pollen-like substance, and is secreted by all 
parts of the plant in greater or less quantity. Summer 
culture consists in dividing and re-potting in gcod 
loam, administering abundance of water, and giving a 
semi-shaded position. Under these concise directions 
the foliage will attain gigantic Primulaceous pro¬ 
portions.— C. B. G., Acton, W. 
-->X<*- 
ORCHARD CULTIVATION. 
There is no greater mistake than to suppose that 
the ordinary and uninstructed farm labourer can plant 
and manage an orchard properly. You might as well 
set him to make a coat or a pair of shoes. The results 
would not be so quickly visible, but they would be 
as unsatisfactory in the end. It would surely make 
some of the present writers on this subject blush to 
find how much wiser their forefathers were on this 
subject. Hear what Henry Dethicke says, in the 
“Gardener’s Labyrinth,” published more than 300 
years ago :—“ Hot sufficient is it to a gardener that he 
knoweth, or would the furtherance of the garden, with¬ 
out any cost bestowed, which the works and labour of 
the same require. Ho. The will, again, of the work¬ 
man, in doing and bestowing of charges, shall small 
avail, without he have both art and skill in the same. 
For that cause it is the chiefest point in every faculty 
and business, to understand and know what to begin 
and follow.’’ And this view has been endorsed by 
every subsequent writer who knows his business, until 
a very recent period. But now, at the close of this 
ninteenth century, when everybody writes, it has 
become fashionable for those who do not know to 
undertake to instruct the public. Blind leaders of 
the blind, they substitute bold and reckless assertions 
for the thoughtful and painstaking deductions from 
experience, made and recorded by writers of the past. 
If I were about to plant fruit trees, I would dig or 
trench the ground two spits deep. A few light, yielding 
soils might be efficiently prepared by the sub-soil 
plough, but even in dealing with them, the spade is a 
better instrument than the plough. Of course, the 
manuring and working of the soil is, or should he, 
more costly than in ordinary farm operations, and the 
cultivation of the trees, by pruning and keeping free 
from insects, is necessary, and is also an item of cost in 
labour which must not be lost sight of. 
The practice of “ sticking in ” a few trees, by which 
is often meant merely digging a hole large and deep 
enough to admit and cover the roots, in the way one 
would stick in a post, cannot be too loudly condemned. 
However good the soil, however careful the after culture j 
no satisfactory results can follow it. The soil should 
be well prepared, and the trees carefully planted and 
cultivated, according to the recognised methods of our 
most intelligent and experienced horticulturists. I 
may say, however, that when planting, the top of the 
root should not be more than 4 ins. beneath the surface 
in heavy soils, and 6 ins. in light soils. The roots, too ) 
should not be huddled together in a dense mass, but 
be spread out, and the soil worked in between them. 
All cultivators will, I think, agree with me that an 
annual manuring and shallow digging is desirable, and 
that the pruning knife should be occasionally used. 
Thinning of the fruit may also be practised with 
advantage. The trees, if standards, should also be 
staked, to preserve them from injury by the wind. Of 
course, the digging cannot take place in orchards that 
are laid down in grass, but while I would not condemn 
such, they cannot be spoken of as the highest examples 
of cultivation. 
In some estimates of profits lately put forward it 
appears to me that these costs, in connection with the 
cultivation of the trees and soil, have not been suffi¬ 
ciently allowed for. The improvement of races by 
selection and cross-breeding falls properly under the 
head of cultivation. Much has been done in this way 
by our skilled horticulturists during the last few years. 
Many of the fruits which now take a lead in the market 
were unknown there a generation ago. The cultivation 
of new fruits, although often very profitable, is, 
however, attended with considerable risk, and should 
be undertaken with due caution. It is well to try 
them on a small scale until such time as their nature 
and properties are fairly proved.— From a 'paper by 
Mr. William Paul, read at a recent meeting of the 
Society of Arts. 
-- 
A COTTON STORY FROM 
LANCASHIRE. 
Do you care about the story of the cotton grown at 
Manley Hall ? I have it here. It happened in this 
way. Mr. J. R. Petch, at that time gardener to Mr. 
Sam Mendell, got hold of some cotton pods, I think. 
At any rate he got the seeds from some very fine quality 
of cotton, and grew the plants. When I saw him he 
had about nine ounces of it, and he wanted to know if 
it could be manufactured into anything. I advised him 
to see Mr. Charles Ashworth (Mr. Mendell’s son-in-law), 
who was one of the Bolton fine spinners, and I said, “If 
you get that spun into fine counts I will get it made 
into something ; I think I know the man who can do 
it.” Mr. Petch got it done ; then I went to an old 
neighbour of mine, a silk handloom weaver, named 
William Heap—“ Bill Yep”—a very ingenious man, 
and he began to scratch his head, and say, “ I never 
wove any cotton in my life yet.” “ Then it’s time you 
did,” I said, “it’s as fine as silk ; you can make a 
warp.” “Aye,” he said, “it will be a tedious job.’’ 
“ Well,” I said, “ it can be done, can’t it ? ” “Aye,” 
he said. “ Well, you must do it.” “Well, I will try,” 
he says. And so after oiling the engine with a drop of 
whiskey, old Bill took this cotton, and wove three 
handkerchiefs, and most beautiful material they were. 
On all of them were embroidered Mr. Mendell’s 
monogram. One of them I kept in the grey state just 
to show how it was in the raw, the other two I bleached 
and finished. 
They were sent to Mr. Mendell on his birthday, and 
very pleased was he with them. He took them to the 
Chamber of Commerce, and the) 7 were on view at the 
Chamber for some weeks. Mr. Mendell wanted to 
know something about them. I gave the praise to 
old Bill, and nothing would do but he must go down 
to Manley Hall. I gave the invitation to Heap, and on 
receiving it he said, “Well, I don’t know ; I have never 
been to a place like that before.” However, Bill went, 
and hehad a high old timeof it. He pleasedMrs. Mendell 
very much, and I heard that he had been dancing 
while he was there. Indeed, I believe he put them up 
to a few things that they did not know of before. Mr. 
Mendell offered to give him a handsome present of 
money or a suit of clothes. Bill said, “If I get the 
money I shall spend it, but if I get the clothes I can 
keep those, I think.” So he decided for the clothes. 
I got an order from Mr. Mendell, and took him to 
Doherty’s, in Exchange Street. He chose a green coat, 
and a red waistcoat, and woollen corduroy trousers. 
He was somebody then. (A voice : But you have not 
told us how Bill got home.) Well, I do not think that 
I ought to tell you how Bill got home. It is not a 
matter for publicity, but he found himself at night in 
the care of a policeman !— From a paper on “ Garden 
Gossip," by Mr. Barlow. 
-=->:£<>==———— 
WATER, ITS USE AND ABUSE 
IN THE CULTIVATION OF PLANTS. 
(Continued from p. 515 .) 
Drainage. 
It will be seen that trees and plants demanding 
and receiving large quantities of water must enjoy 
efficient drainage to carry off the superfluous moisture. 
Although water, by its motion and aerating properties, 
fertilises the poorest soil, still it loses its utility when 
stagnant, and drainage must be resorted to. Motion 
is always necessary if water is to carry out its work. 
When an excess of moisture is in the earth, a consider¬ 
able amount of sun-heat is utilised in evaporating it, 
and it becomes obvious that the heat, if not employed 
in evaporation, would warm the soil. Warm showers, 
which are acknowledged to be so beneficial in spring, 
are prevented from penetrating. Water is heaviest at 
a temperature of 39 '2° Fahr. Cold increases the weight 
or specific gravity of most solids and fluids ; but in the 
case of water it is otherwise. In intense cold it 
solidifies and becomes much lighter, as we know ; were 
it otherwise the sea would become a solid mass of ice. 
Experiments have been made where it was proved that 
pouring boiling water on a mixture of soil and water 
does not heat the mass more than 6 ins. or 1 ft. below 
the surface, while at 2 ft. or 3 ft. no effect is obtained. 
Drainage raises the temperature of the soil from 5° to 
15°, enabling crops to be grown which would otherwise 
be impracticable. 
Water also carries w T ith it ammonia and carbonic acid 
by the air dissolving the existing elements in the 
soil. Drainage is a potent means of improving the 
texture of soils, and without it soil of a good friable 
nature cannot exist. Undrained soils have a tendency 
to cohere and become a useless mass. Worthless 
gardens have been converted into the very best and 
most productive ; so lasting good may be procured by 
thorough draining of the soil, which leads to the use 
instead of abuse of the water supplied hy nature. 
The work that drains can do is notable in a case 
where the weight of rain which fell during twelve 
hours amounted to 148,900 lbs, or 4S‘5 tons, on an 
area of nine acres, equalling 437'4 tons, and each of 
the several pipes with which it was drained discharged 
nineteen tons, equal to about four-tenths of a ton per 
hour, on the mean of forty-eight hours ; but when the 
flow was greatest, it was found that each drain must 
have discharged at the rate of five times that quantity 
per hour. 
Watering Pot Plants. 
The watering of stove and greenhouse plantsis what taxes 
the skill, care, and patience of the cultivator. It is 
about the most important part in the cultivation of 
pot plants. They may be placed under adverse cir¬ 
cumstances, and may have the wrong soil and treat¬ 
ment generally, but if the watering is properly conducted 
they will manage to drag on an existence in spite of the 
adverse circumstances. More deaths are caused by 
excess and deficiency of water than all other causes 
put together. 
The parts of a plant exposed to the air, and not 
covered by cuticularised cells, are always giving off 
water ; the hotter and drier the atmosphere, the greater 
the transpiration. This sometimes goes on to such an 
excessive degree that the roots cannot supply enough 
water, hence the flagging of plants during intensely 
hot weather. Tender plants and those of annual 
growth, where the cuticle is but slightly developed, are 
most subject to this. It may also be seen in a shoot 
which has the supply cut off by being severed from the 
plant, and it quickly withers if transpiration is rapid. 
The water to make up this deficiency is taken up 
by the roots, hence the supply depends on their 
activity. If a plant is transplanted, the roots to a 
certain extent are destroyed, and not being capable of 
supplying the requisite amount of water, the plants 
flag until new root hairs are formed. In the case of 
the root disturbance of house plants by potting, shading 
should be resorted to, so that by keeping the plants 
cool there is less transpiration, and hence less demand 
on the roots. 
If the soil is much colder than the atmosphere, 
absorption diminishes and the plants wither. This 
brings up an important point—viz., the temperature 
of the water, for if that supplied is very much colder 
than the atmosphere of the house, the result would be 
similar. It should not be warmer, or it will be too 
stimulating, but should be of the same temperature as 
the house if possible. This may be nearly gained by 
exposing the water in shallow receptacles. Another 
method is having the water exposed in a pond, from 
which it can be drawn. Experiments with such as 
compared with spring water in supplying Peach borders 
has proved that the first tended to raise the temperature 
of the border, while the spring water invariably lowered 
it several degrees. A good plan in hothouses, to which 
we know of no objection, is to have a small pipe or coil 
running through the tank from the hot-water pipes, so 
that the temperature may be regulated to a nicety. 
Watering in the summer should be done early 
in the morning before eight o’clock, and as late as con¬ 
venient in the afternoon, at which time the soil will be 
at its lowest temperature, and hence less liable to 
chills. Of course, when a plant is dry it must be 
watered, whatever the time of day. Use rain-water 
when possible, but tap-water as supplied by companies 
is generally fairly soft, and has no very serious effect 
on the well-being of the plants by its use. 
Its judicious application is the point, but no rule 
can be made for this. It is the greatest mistake to 
keep any plant sodden. Water should pass freely 
through the pot, and this by means of ample drainage, 
